For years, Prohoc has been sending expertise across the Gulf of Bothnia. Now the company is making it official with a strategic acquisition in Norrköping and ambitions that stretch across the Nordics.
Prohoc AB has existed as a legal entity in Sweden since 2021. With the acquisition of Sumitomo SHI FW’s (SFW) field service operations in Norrköping, the strategy becomes reality.
“We had been looking for the right target since 2021, something that fits us strategically. Now we have found it,” says Kimmo Kohtamäki, Group CEO, Prohoc.
Prohoc AB now has a tangible base, a local team with invaluable customer knowledge and an immediate foothold in one of Northern Europe’s most active industrial markets.
Why Sweden, why now
“Sweden is, quite simply, a golden market. In terms of industrial manufacturing, we are talking about roughly five times the size of Finland,” explains Matias Träskbäck, Senior Vice President, Global Field Services, Prohoc.
Sweden’s energy market is undergoing a fundamental transformation, and the window of opportunity is wide open. Electricity demand is expected to double in less than ten years, driving a massive modernisation cycle across nuclear, hydropower and grid infrastructure. Battery energy storage is growing faster than any other energy technology in the country.
As Mats Ohls, Senior Vice President at SFW Global Services, puts it: “Five years ago, everyone was talking about the green transition. Today the conversation has shifted – energy security and independence are now the main drivers. But the solutions are the same.”
And the energy transition itself is now the engine behind a broader industrial revolution, where green steel, hydrogen and large-scale electrification are reshaping the entire manufacturing landscape, creating a level of investment activity the market has rarely seen before.
The critical bottleneck is not capital, it is expertise. Sweden needs experienced partners who can deliver across the full project lifecycle, from execution and commissioning through to long-term field service and operations. That is precisely where Prohoc operates.
A win-win partnership
The relationship between Prohoc and SFW did not start with this acquisition. There is a shared history of collaboration across multiple touchpoints – specialist resources on new-build projects, joint development programmes and co-ownership connections.
What this deal does is take that relationship to a fundamentally new level: from supplier to strategic partner. For SFW, whose core business is highly cyclical with maintenance concentrated in the summer months, a partner capable of growing across other industries is not just a convenience, it is a strategic advantage.
“As Prohoc grows across other industries and markets, SFW benefits too. A stronger, more capable partner means better service and more stable capacity year-round,” Ohls explains.
For Prohoc, the fit is equally clear. The SFW customer base with energy companies and large industrial investment projects is precisely the terrain they want to cover across the Nordics.
From Sweden to Norway, and beyond
The Norrköping acquisition is the opening move in a larger Nordic strategy for Prohoc. Specialist Services and Global Field Services are ready to scale immediately while Production Services will follow as the Swedish operation matures. Norway is already on the radar, with market exploration underway.
The synergies between SFW and Prohoc are not limited to Scandinavia. Collaboration discussions are already underway in the US and Canada. “I would rather call Prohoc than a distant overseas provider, and that says something about the kind of partnership we are building,” says Ohls.
Kohtamäki is equally pleased with the partnership.“SFW is a model example of the OEM partnerships we are striving for: a long-term relationship that drives our strategy forward. We are honoured they chose Prohoc as their partner, and as a new home for their field service team in Norrköping.”